" In light of Ignatius' 'Two Standards' and 'The Mystries Done From The Garden To The House Of Annas', at any moment we can be Judas or Peter, a Christian life can be a fine line."

Friday, May 10, 2013

The Pool Of Jesuits With The Right Resume Is Rapidly Shrinking

For 25 years, St. Louis University has been led by the Rev. Lawrence Biondi. And for nearly two centuries,

it has been led by Biondi’s Roman
Catholic order, the Jesuits. Soon, it may be led by neither. Biondi recently announced that he intends to retire, and university
officials are saying little about the specifics surrounding his
departure. But one thing its board of 50-plus trustees will have to
consider is whether to replace Biondi with another Jesuit priest. That is, if they can find one to take the job.

The “biggest challenge” for a Jesuit institution selecting a new
president is that the pool of Jesuits with the right resume is rapidly
shrinking, said the Rev. Thomas Gaunt, executive director of the Center
for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Jesuit-run Georgetown
University.
“You’re looking at a pretty tiny group of guys,” he said. “And the right one might not be available.”

SLU does not make its bylaws public. But the most recent version —
obtained and published online by the university’s faculty senate — makes
it clear that the next president can come from outside the order that
founded the school. The bylaws were amended either in 2006 or 2010 to eliminate the first
sentence in Article III, Section 3: “The President shall be a member of
the Society of Jesus.” Striking that requirement likely has a lot to do with simple math.
The 1960s saw the peak of Jesuit membership in the U.S., with about
7,000 priests. By 1982, that number had diminished to 5,500. Today there
are about 2,500 American Jesuits.

About Me

I am not a Jesuit, nor am I a cleric. I spent about 5 years under the spiritual direction of a Jesuit, 3 of those years in a weekly directed retreat in everyday life. The profound impact that the Society and the Excercises had upon my life, resulted in me, trying to deal with that impact in some way by sharing my view of Jesus Christ with others. My intention is to pull together Jesuitical and Catholic subjects that interest me. I was born on the feast day of St. Paul Miki, S.J.. I am the father of three small children and an infant, I am married to a great wife.